The Planet of the Apes returns… for another root canal

A gorilla named Oscar Jonesey, or O.J., was knocked out and taken for treatment to the San Francisco Zoo hospital. Once at the hospital, the western lowland gorilla underwent a three-hour root canal procedure to save an abscessed tooth. The silverback male was also in the dentist’s chair the previous year, when he got another root canal.

The Huffington Post reports that the ailing ape was treated by dentist Dan Mairani and endodontist Steve Holifield, both of whom normally handle humans.

Fun facts:

Because gorillas and humans are closely related, zoos often call upon regular dentists, trained to treat humans, to perform emergency dentistry on primates.

The scientific name for the western lowland gorilla is “gorilla gorilla gorilla.” Adult males weigh about 374 lb, while adult females weigh about 158 lb.